AMA access over local audit analysis (AAOLA)

ABSTRACT

A system of evaluating automatic message accounting records associated with telephony calls is disclosed. The system includes correlation logic to collect originating AMA records having an originating call code to identify a record of an originating long distance call and further to collect terminating AMA records that correspond to the collected originating automatic message accounting records. The system also includes evaluation logic to determine when a call may be by-passing terminating access charges by identifying calls that have been correlated with an originating AMA record having the originating code and with a terminating AMA record having a local termination code.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority from and is a continuation ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/853,572 filed on May 25, 2004 andentitled “AMA ACCESS OVER LOCAL AUDIT ANALYSIS (AAOLA)”, the contents ofwhich are expressly incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Field Of The Disclosure

The present disclosure relates generally to access over local telephonytraffic detection.

2. Description Of The Related Art

Under federal regulations, calls that are carried by inter-exchangecarriers (IXC), and (including CLEC, INDP etc.) are assessed with accesscharges, that are payable by the IXC to the incumbent local exchangecarrier (ILEC). The egress calls that originate from the ILEC network tothe IXC network are assessed with an originating access charge while theingress calls that terminate into the ILEC network from the IXC areassessed with a terminating access charge, both of which are payable bythe IXC carrier. These access charges are part of a tariff ratestructure that has been in effect since divestiture.

Recently, IXC carriers appear to have been routing traffic in such amanner as to avoid paying terminating access charges to LEC carriers.This terminating access by-pass has a significant financial impact tothe ILEC carriers and is considered a violation to standing tariffs. TheIXC carriers have the capability to terminate this access traffic overlocal facilities through the use of CLEC affiliates and/or Less CostRoute (LCR) providers. ILEC providers refer to this type of traffic asAccess-Over-Local.

Identifying and quantifying the extent of Access-Over-Local traffic isan ILEC revenue retention issue. Accordingly, there is a need for amethod of detecting Access-Over-Local traffic.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a general diagram that illustrates a system of monitoring SS7links.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart that illustrates a method of operation relatingto the system of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A call originates from a subscriber that is connected to an ILEC (ILECA) office and is recorded at that end office as an originating longdistance call (using AMA call code 110) and routed to the long distancecarrier. Once the call reaches its destination exchange, it is passedback to an ILEC (ILEC B) from the long distance carrier, recorded as aterminating long distance call (using AMA call code 119), and terminatedto the called party through the ILEC B end office. Because of therecordings, each ILEC has the opportunity to bill the long distancecarrier for their costs (called access charges) in placing andcompleting the call.

Referring to FIG. 1, a system 100 is illustrated. The system 100includes a first end office switch 102, an inter-exchange carrier (IXC)Network 106, and a second end office switch 104. The first end officeswitch 102 is responsive to call requests from a customer telephone,such as the illustrated telephone 112. The first end office switch 102is coupled to AMA billing and recording system 120. The first end officeswitch 102 is also connected via a CLEC Network 108 to the second endoffice switch 104. The second end office switch 104 is coupled to aterminating telephone such as customer telephone 114 and is coupled to aterminating AMA billing and recording system 130. The first AMA billingand recording system 120 collects AMA billing records and sends suchrecords to AMA mainframe database 126. Similarly AMA billing andrecording system 130 sends AMA billing records for the second end officeswitch 104 to the AMA mainframe database 136.

During operation, a customer of the first end office switch 102 at acustomer telephone 112, initiates a call to be routed through thenetwork. An example of a call is a long distance call that specifies aparticular IXC carrier. As the call is routed through the first endoffice switch 102, AMA records having an originating access code (e.g.cc110) are stored in the AMA billing and recording system 120. The callis routed over the IXC network 106 along a call path to the second endoffice switch 104. In a particular embodiment, the call path may berouted from the IXC network 106 across a CLEC network 108 to the secondend office switch 104. Thus, some calls are handled over the IXC network106 and other calls are routed over an alternative network such as aCLEC network 108. In either case, terminating access charges at the endoffice switch 104 are proper for the inter exchange carrier as calls areterminated at the second end office switch 104 and routed to the finaldestination customer telephone 114. AMA billing records are recorded atthe AMA billing recording system 130 for such calls. The AMA billingrecording system 130 records a terminating access record, such as acc119 record for archival. The terminating AMA records, such as theillustrated record 134, are stored at the AMA mainframe database 136.

The database records from AMA database 126 corresponding to originatingcall records and the records from database 136 corresponding toterminating call records are forwarded to correlation logic unit 140.The correlation logic unit 140 may be implemented by a software programexecuted on a computer that correlates originating and terminating AMArecords based on a number of different criteria. For example, theoriginating and terminating records may be correlated based on dialedtelephone number, time of day, duration of call and the calling partynumber, if present. The correlated originating and terminating recordsare then forwarded to evaluation logic 142 to classify calls based onthe correlated records. The evaluation logic often provides evidencethat certain calls may be deemed access over local calls, therebydetecting a failure of payment of terminating access charges undertariff rules. Further details regarding the correlation and evaluationlogic used to compare originating and terminating records is describedwith respect to FIG. 2.

Referring to FIG. 2, a method of correlating and evaluating call recordsto detect certain classes of calls are shown. Originating AMA recordsare collected, at 200. The originating AMA records have a particularoriginating call code, such as cc110. Terminating AMA records for thecall are collected that correspond to the originally collectedoriginating AMA records, as shown at 202. The terminating records have aparticular termination code. Calls that have been correlated based onthe originating AMA record having an originating code and a terminatingAMA record having a terminating call code are identified, as shown at204. Based on the correlation of the originating and terminating AMArecords, a report is then displayed that identifies calls that have beenreported as local over access calls, at 206.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, calls in which ILEC-A and ILEC-B (i.e. LEC 102and LEC 104) are both operated by a common carrier may be analyzed sincethe originating and terminating AMA Records are accessible. Correlationof these records allows the disclosed method to distinguish betweencalls that legitimately terminate at local trunk groups vs. those callsthat originated as access calls yet are being dumped as local calls toavoid access charges on the terminating end (i.e. local over accesscalls). An example of the AMA audit and evaluation method follows:

-   -   1. Originating AMA call code 110 (cc110) Billing Records are        collected over a period of time (e.g. 1 Day to x Days) based on        a variety of conditions including those determined by the        following study criteria and Sample Model Size:        -   a. Calls That Originate from an ILEC customer and        -   b. Calls that are destined to an ILEC customer (based on            NPANXX of dialed Number) and        -   c. Calls PIC'd to a specific Access Carrier and/or        -   d. Calls that have a greater duration then “x” seconds.            (varied for system performance considerations)    -   2. Terminating office AMA Billing Records are collected        including both Access cc119 records as well as Local Terminating        records, such as cc720 coded records. These terminating AMA        records are extracted based on the condition that they terminate        to the same dialed telephone number as the Originating cc110        records collected in step 1 over the same time period.    -   3. The Originating cc110 records are then correlated to the        Terminating Access (cc119) and Local (e.g. cc720) records based        on the following parameters:        -   a. DIALED TELEPHONE NUMBER        -   b. CALL TIMESTAMP        -   c. CALL DURATION        -   d. CALLING PARTY NUMBER (CPN) (if provided) (the correlation            can be conducted in the absence of a CPN or if the CPN has            been changed for fraudulent reasons)    -   4. Three types of conclusions can then be reached:        -   a. Calls that have been correlated with an Originating            Access cc110 record and a Terminating Access cc119 record            are considered ACCESS to ACCESS calls and signify “above            board” practices with the ILEC being compensated as            expected. This identifies a first set of calls.        -   b. Calls that have been correlated with an Originating            Access cc110 record and a Terminating Local record, are            considered ACCESS-OVER-LOCAL calls and signify that the IXC            carrier is by-passing Terminating Access Charges. This            identifies a second set of calls.        -   c. Originating Access cc110 calls that have NOT been            correlated are considered NO MATCH calls and signify            potential fraud in the form of terminating Access calls over            PRI circuits that do not generate AMA billing records. This            is a third set of calls that are suitable for further            investigation.

The disclosed system and method takes advantage of an LEC's existing AMABilling system to provide audit coverage without having to invest in newsupporting infrastructure and provides for detailed auditing analysis toidentify Access Over Local calls.

The above disclosed subject matter is to be considered illustrative, andnot restrictive, and the appended claims are intended to cover all suchmodifications, enhancements, and other embodiments which fall within thetrue spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, to the maximumextent allowed by law, the scope of the present invention is to bedetermined by the broadest permissible interpretation of the followingclaims and their equivalents, and shall not be restricted or limited bythe foregoing detailed description.

1. A system for evaluating automatic message accounting (AMA) recordsassociated with telephony call traffic, the system comprising:correlation logic to collect originating AMA records having anoriginating call code to identify a record of an originating longdistance call and further to collect terminating AMA records thatcorrespond to the collected originating AMA records; and evaluationlogic to determine when a call may be by-passing terminating accesscharges by identifying calls that have been correlated with anoriginating AMA record having the originating code and with aterminating AMA record having a local termination code.
 2. The system ofclaim 1, wherein a first portion of the terminating AMA records have alocal termination code and a second portion of the terminating AMArecords have a terminating access code.
 3. The system of claim 1,wherein the evaluation logic further reports identified calls as accessover local calls.
 4. The system of claim 3, wherein the evaluation logicfurther identifies the access over local calls as calls that bypassterminating access charges.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein theevaluation logic further identifies the identified calls as fraudulentcalls.
 6. The system of claim 5, wherein the evaluation logic does notidentify a call as a fraudulent call when there is a legitimateexplanation.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the originating AMArecords are correlated with the terminating AMA records based on adialed telephone number, a call timestamp, and call durationinformation.
 8. The system of claim 7, wherein the originating AMArecords are further correlated with the terminating AMA records based oncalling number information.
 9. The system of claim 1, further comprisinga reporting module to display a report that includes the identifiedcalls.
 10. The system of claim 1, further comprising a first telephonyoffice to collect the originating AMA records and a second telephonyoffice to collect the terminating AMA records.
 11. The system of claim10, wherein the first telephony office and the second telephony officeare both controlled by a first operating entity.
 12. The system of claim11, wherein the identified calls are routed from the first telephonyoffice to an inter-exchange office that is controlled by a secondoperating entity.
 13. The system of claim 1, further comprising: a firstAMA billing system coupled to a first office switch to record theoriginating AMA records; and a first database coupled to the first AMAbilling system to store the originating AMA records; wherein thecorrelation logic is coupled to the first database to collect theoriginating AMA records.
 14. The system of claim 13, further comprising:a second AMA billing system coupled to a second office switch to recordthe terminating AMA records; and a second database coupled to the secondAMA billing system to store the terminating AMA records; wherein thecorrelation logic is coupled to the second database to collect theterminating AMA records.
 15. The system of claim 1, wherein thecorrelation logic comprises a program executable on a computer.
 16. Asystem for evaluating automatic message accounting (AMA) recordsassociated with telephony calls, the system comprising: correlationlogic to collect at least one originating AMA record having anoriginating call code to identify a record of an originating longdistance call and further to collect at least one terminating AMA recordthat corresponds to the collected originating AMA record; and evaluationlogic to determine when a call may be by-passing terminating accesscharges by identifying at least one call that can not be correlated withan originating AMA record having the originating code and a terminatingAMA record having a termination code.
 17. The system of claim 16,wherein the evaluation logic extracts the terminating AMA record fromthe at least one collected terminating AMA record based on a dialedphone number of the originating AMA record and a common time period. 18.The system of claim 16, wherein the evaluation logic identifies callsthat have been correlated with an originating AMA record having theoriginating code and a terminating AMA record having a local terminationcode.
 19. The system of claim 18, wherein the at least one originatingAMA record is correlated with the at least one terminating AMA recordbased on a dialed telephone number, a call timestamp, and call durationinformation.
 20. The system of claim 16, wherein the at least one callthat can not be correlated includes a call that does not generate aterminating AMA billing record.